Hypobaria (low total atmospheric pressure) is essential in sustainable, energy-efficient plant production systems for long-term space exploration and human habitation on the Moon and Mars. There are also critical engineering, safety, and materials handling advantages of growing plants under hypobaria, including reduced atmospheric leakage from extraterrestrial base environments. The potential for producing crops under hypobaria and manipulating hypoxia (low oxygen stress) to increase health-promoting bioactive compounds is not well characterized. Here we showed that hypobaric-grown lettuce plants (25 kPa ≈ 25% of normal pressure) exposed to hypoxia (6 kPa pO2 ≈ 29% of normal pO2) during the final 3 d of the production cycle had enhanced antioxidant activity, increased synthesis of anthocyananins, phenolics, and carotenoids without reduction of photosynthesis or plant biomass. Net photosynthetic rate (PN) was not affected by total pressure. However, 10 d of hypoxia reduced PN, dark respiration rate (RD),
PN/RD ratio, and plant biomass. Growing plants under hypobaria and manipulating hypoxia during crop production to enhance health-promoting bioactive compounds is important for the health and well-being of astronauts exposed to space radiation and other stresses during long-term habitation. and C. He ... [et al.].
Tolerance to phosphorus stress was studied in Capsicum annuum L. Chile ancho cv. San Luis and bell pepper cv. Jupiter plants. Plants were fertilized weekly with Long-Ashton nutrient solution (LANS) modified to supply 0, 11, 22, 44, 66, or 88 g(P) m-3 (P0, P11, P22, P44, P66, P88). Phosphorus stress occurred in both cultivars at P0 and P11, with reduced plant growth and development. At P0, the lowest percentage of total biomass was directed toward reproductive growth. The root/shoot ratio was greatest at P0, reflecting greater dry matter partitioning to the root system. Growth of 'San Luis' was more sensitive to phosphorus stress than 'Jupiter'. A greater percentage of total biomass was directed towards reproductive growth in 'Jupiter' than 'San Luis'. Increasing P nutrition elevated leaf tissue P in both cultivars with highest leaf tissue P at P88. There were no differences in tissue P between P0 and P11 'San Luis' plants, whereas P0 'Jupiter' plants had the lowest tissue P. Low P-plants generally had the highest tissue N and lowest S, Mn, and B. In both cultivars, gas exchange was lowest at P0, as indicated by reduced stomatal conductance (gs) and net photosynthetic rate (PN). Internal CO2 concentration and leaf-to-air vapor pressure difference (VPD) were generally highest with P-stressed plants. Phosphorus use efficiency, as indicated by PN per unit of leaf tissue P concentration (PN/P), was highest at P11. Generally, no P treatments exceeded the gas exchange levels obtained by P44 (full strength LANS) plants. Both PN and gs declined during reproductive growth in 'San Luis', which fruits more rapidly than 'Jupiter', whereas no reduction in gas exchange occurred with 'Jupiter'. and F. T. Davies ... [et al.].